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he "fact" that the bird was extinct was also not disputed by any "knowledgable biologist
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Yes it was disputed by many knowledgeable biologists. The standard opinion through most of those 60 years was that the bird was "probably extinct" although many people hoped it wasn't. It was listed as "endangered" in 1967, not extinct. It wasn't until 1994 until the IUCN listed it as extinct, but then they later changed the listing to "critically endangered" on the grounds that it could still exist.
While the possibility that the bird was extinct was always in dispute, the fact that it was and is endangered and in need of protection has never been in dispute by avian biologists.